Sony unveiled the PlayStation Classic back in 2018 in an attempt to emulate the successes of Nintendo's NES Classic Mini and SNES Classic Mini . All these years on, the plug and play mini-console is no longer manufactured so it's difficult to find it in stock, let alone at a reduced price. That means any stores that still sell it have bumped up the price given the limited stock.

We had previously seen the console for as low as $40/£45 in some cases, but it's now around double that price at most retailers. That makes it about the same as the launch price of the PlayStation Classic, which was $99.99 in the US, £89.99 in the UK and $149.99 in Australia. If you do still want to relive your gaming past, we've nevertheless gathered together where you can still buy the PlayStation Classic for the best prices below.

The PlayStation Classic comes with two replica controllers in the box, along with an HDMI cable and a USB cable. It needs a USB AC adapter for power though (and this isn't included in the box) so you'll need to get one of those separately or use the 5V charger from a phone or tablet.

It'll be interesting to see if any remaining stock eventually gets discounted. For those of you looking for a console with a more modern touch, you'll want to check out where to buy the PS5 to ensure you're the first to know when a restock is available again.

The original PlayStation was the first console in history to sell more than 100 million units, so there are many of us out there who hold this console close to our hearts and will jump at the chance of taking a stroll down memory lane.

What appeals most is that it looks and plays like the original PlayStation. However, the Classic is 45% smaller than the original and comes pre-loaded with 20 games, playable in their original format . The full lineup of titles included is listed just below.

PlayStation Classic: full list of games

Does that all look a bit too retro for you? You can head to our PS5 deals hub for all the latest discounts on games and accessories for Sony's latest console.

Squid Game season 2 is 'absolutely' happening, says Netflix – but when?

In a move that'll surprise absolutely no-one, Netflix has confirmed that Squid Game season 2 is "absolutely" happening.

Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos confirmed the news during a recent earnings interview, with Variety quoting him as saying "Absolutely. The 'Squid Game' universe has just begun."

We're still short on details, of course, but it's good to hear the news that Squid Game season 2 is on the way from Netflix itself. Previously, Squid Game creator Hwang Dong-hyuk had said there "will indeed be a second season," but it wasn't clear how far discussions with Netflix had gone – at other times saying he was "going to talk to Netflix" about his vision for a successive season.

Official backing from the CEO of Netflix, though, suggests things are starting to move ahead. The company would be foolhardy not to, given the immense success of the South Korean drama, which sees desperate, cash-strapped competitors compete in a series of deadly playground games to win a massive cash prize.

Given that it's the biggest Netflix TV series of all time, it seemed like it was only a matter of time before Netflix officially renewed it for a follow-up season. Not only that, but Sarandos' use of the word "universe" suggests that potential spin-offs could be in the works, too. Oh Il-nam origins story, anyone?

When will we see Squid Game season 2?

So when could Squid Game season 2 grace our screens?

While it took Hwang Dong-hyuk many years to get his concept off the ground, the sequel will no doubt be a little quicker to get made. That is, if his other projects could delay matters. Hwang previously revealed that "There’s a film I really want to make [and] I’m thinking about which to do first" (per The Guardian ), so that could certainly affect the production schedule and push it further back.

Given the immense stress Hwang was under during the first season's production –  the showrunner losing several teeth in the process – we don't expect he'll be launching right back into the franchise. At this rate, we'd be surprised to see any more episodes, or even hear of a release date, before 2023 – with 2024 being the most likely launch window right now.

Of course, Netflix has a good reputation for expanding its favorite properties as much as possible. During the long wait before The Witcher season 2 , for instance, we got an animated movie set in the same universe.

So it's possible we could see a spin-off Squid Game anime launch, or something similar, in the meantime from a separate creative team. There's already talk of a Squid Game season 3 , too, but let's get season 2 first, eh?

Squid Game's first nine episodes are streaming on Netflix now, and you can check out our Squid Game ending explainer for more on how the show wrapped up.

Sony needs to catch up on nostalgia, while Microsoft buys it up for billions

The announcement of Microsoft agreeing to buy Activision-Blizzard in a $68 billion dollar deal shook the gaming industry, with many wondering what’s going to happen once the deal closes.

This means that brands such as Crash Bandicoot, Spyro the Dragon, and True Crime: Streets of LA are about to be the property of Microsoft, alongside other brands such as DOOM, Elder Scrolls, Halo, and more.

But this brings up the aspect of where Sony stands in this. With a rumored service called Project Spartacus offering titles from its back catalog of almost 30 years, there are going to be franchises, such as Crash Bandicoot, which will need more discussion for them to be allowed on the service.

However, this is also representative of how far behind Sony looks in the light of Microsoft’s big news, and what it could mean for future generations of consoles and gaming as a whole.

A Sony and Microsoft agreement?

When the Nintendo Online Expansion Pack service was announced in October, Nintendo surprised many by confirming that Microsoft-owned Banjo Kazooie was about to arrive on the service, now available to play on the Switch .

In retrospect, it wasn’t a surprise, mainly due to the starring titular characters Banjo and Kazooie appearing in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as paid DLC , back in 2019.

Also, to see the first game in the series, on the Nintendo Online Service with a ‘by Xbox Game Studios’, will cause anyone older than 20 years old to do a double-take. Especially with the Rare logo appearing once you start up the game. But it shows how far some brands have come since their first outing on other systems.

Yet Sony is already on the backfoot. It didn’t help matters when the CEO, Jim Ryan, publicly called out its older catalog as ‘dated’ and questioned why anyone would play them, a comment Ryan has seemingly backed away from since.

To dismiss over 25 years of gaming wouldn’t put anyone in a good light, especially the CEO of Sony. But Project Spartacus looks to reverse some of that ill-will, rumored to include games from the PS1 and PS2 era.

While I’m not expecting Onimusha 2 or Rosco McQueen to appear on the service, at least to start with, seeing games such as Ridge Racer and Tomb Raider 2, ready to play on a PlayStation 5 is immensely appealing.

But we’ve been here before already. Back in 2015, Sony enabled PS2 Classics to run on the PlayStation 4 , where you could play Ape Escape 2, Resident Evil 4, and almost the entire library of Rockstar Games’ PS2 releases.

Users were hopeful that this would mean the games that you could play on PS3, PSP and PS Vita would eventually work on PlayStation 4, but this wasn’t to be. The program fizzled out after 18 months, and while you can play these on your PlayStation 5, it nowhere near scratches the demand that’s out there.

But it also goes back to who holds the rights. Sony may have another battle soon, to offer the original Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon games, now that they’re about to be the property of Microsoft. These were once tentpole Sony exclusives, at least in the heyday of their original releases. We may see something similar to the agreement that Microsoft and Nintendo had for Banjo to appear on the Switch Online service.

But time will tell. Nostalgia is a powerful asset in gaming, now more than ever. It brings back memories and good feelings of a time when you enjoyed a game for what it was when it was released, not what it could be, either through DLC content or multiplayer season packs.

After so many years of Sony flat-out refusing to honor the past that so many still hold in a great light, Project Spartacus needs to impress on day one, and not repeat the same tropes that its PS2 Classics series on PS4 brought.